Question 1: Discuss how relationship marketing or retention marketing is different from the traditional emphasis in marketing.
Question 2: Describe how a firm's relationships with customers may evolve over time. For each level of relationship discussed in the chapter, identify a firm with which you have that level of relationship, and discuss how its marketing efforts differ from those of other firms.
Question 3: Think about a service organization that retains you as a loyal customer. Why are you loyal to this provider? What are the benefits to you of staying loyal and not switching to another provider? What would it take for you to switch?
Question 4: With regard to the same service organization, what are the benefits to the organization of keeping you as a customer? Calculate your "lifetime value" to the organization.
Question 5: Describe the logic behind "customer profitability segmentation" from the company's point of view. Also discuss what customers may think of the practice.
Question 6: Describe the various switching barriers discussed in the text. What switching barriers might you face in switching banks? Cell phone service providers? Universities?
Question 7: Describe the four levels of retention strategies, and give examples of each type. Again, think of a service organization to which you are loyal. Can you describe the reason(s) you are loyal in terms of the different levels? In other words, what ties you to the organization?
Question 8: Have you ever worked as a frontline service employee? Can you remember having to deal with difficult or "problem" customers? Discuss how you handled such situations. As a manager of frontline employees, how would you help your employees deal with difficult customers?